


Dogs Have Owners, Cats Have Staff

by sullacat



Series: Taking Chances [6]
Category: Star Trek (2009)
Genre: Animal Transformation, Bones as a kitty, Boyfriends, M/M, Schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-20
Updated: 2011-06-20
Packaged: 2017-10-20 14:18:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/213671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sullacat/pseuds/sullacat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An illness, a transformation, a revelation. Featuring Bones-as-a-cat.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dogs Have Owners, Cats Have Staff

**Author's Note:**

> for my Schmoop Bingo card- pets. These characters are not mine, no infringement intended.

"Chapel, report!" Bones called out, storming into sickbay with his usual lack of grace and civility.

"Over here, Leonard," she called out, turning the corner and meeting up with McCoy. She pulled the surgical mask she wore off her face before speaking to him. "Two crew members complained about excessive sneezing after returning from the planet surface. They were brought in ten minutes ago after undergoing their change in the Science bay."

"Where are they?"

"I've isolated them in that private room until we figure out what happened. Leonard," she stopped him from opening the door, one hand on his arm. "They're- - rather, they were turned into-"

Bones peeked inside the window. "Fuck," he sighed aloud, rubbing one hand over his eyes. Inside the room were _cats_ , two cats sitting on the bed, pawing carefully at each other. "Their names?" he asked, his voice incredulous.

"Ensign Perez, over on the right," she said, tucking in next to him to look in the window, "and Science officer Lackshmi. The tabby one," she added, trying not to smile.

This earned her a glare. "Dammit, Christine, its not funny. What were they doing on the surface?" he asked. This has been a long day already, and McCoy didn't need this shit too.

She glared back at him, in that annoyed yet fond way she always did, then looked down at her medical notes. "Studying the vegetation of some unique terrain or something like that. Routine enough, they returned to the ship six hours ago, began experiencing symptoms one hour ago, then-" She just pointed at them, one of them chewing on the other's tail.

Bones twitched. "Anyone else go down to the surface?"

"I checked with the bridge, they said it was just the two of them, doing extra research."

"Suppose that's something," Bones sighed, sterilizing his hands at the sonic sink before grabbing a surgical mask and tying it on his head. "Get someone to find out what that extra research was, then bring me those scanners over there. I want the rest of sickbay sterilized, quarantine conditions. Anyone who doesn't need to be here gets out," he told her. "I'm going to check on them before I brief the captain."

"Understood," she said, helping him arrange his mask and handed him his scanners. "Be careful in there, Leonard."

"I'm a doctor, not a veterinarian," he muttered to himself after the door closed behind him. Walking to the table where the cats sat, he reached down and tried to pick up one of the cats, who hissed angrily at him as he lifted it up. "Scratch me and I'm restraining you," he muttered at the animal, watching as it went limp and placid in his arms. "That's right," he said, pretending he wasn't giving it a little scratch under the muzzle.

Ten minutes later he emerged from the room, sanitizing his hands again at the sink. "Well, as far as I can tell they're healthy. They seem to understand me, so they've kept their wits. I ran a full lab panel, and I'm hoping that if I can isolate something in the blood, maybe we can..." Bones stopped and sneezed. "Excuse me," he said, continuing. "Whatever it was didn't wash out in the transport back, so it's more ingrained than -"

He sneezed again. And again. It wasn't until he saw the panicked look on Christine's face that it occurred to him what was happening. The last thing he saw was her reaching for her mask when the room began to spin. "Oh shit," he grumbled, then nothing more.

 

When Bones woke up, he looked around and sighed. He was back _in_ the room with the other two cats. Everything looked sharper, black and white and shades of gray - but the _smells_. So many smells. Bones stood, flicking his tail for balance as he stretched, and moved toward the door and meowed.

Nothing. _Shit._ Turning, he watched the other two playing with some little stuffed toy they'd been given, chewing on each others tails. Bones wondered they were reverting to a more cat-like mindset... or perhaps they were just bored. Ensign Perez approached him twice and Bones hissed, forcing her back to the other side of the room.

An hour later, it wasn't any better. He'd tried to ignore them as they began bathing each other, scratching the Ensign again (what was it with her) when she tried to take a bite out of his tail. Finally the door opened, and a pair of hands roughly picked him up.

Bones tried to scratch at them, but they grabbed his paws, immobilizing him. _Fuck._

Too bright... he was on a table, the metal cold under his paws. Chapel was there, with Spock - Jim was standing back, looking worried. Bones turned to look at him, could smell him, even over here. Bones meowed loudly in his direction but then felt cold sting pressing into him. _Dammit. Shit._

"You're sure this is gonna work?" Jim called out, stepping forward. Frustration all over his face, visible even from the cat's perspective.

"Not too close yet, Captain," Spock told him. "You should not be allowed in this room at all, you know."

"Whatever," Jim retorted, folding his arms in front of him. "Tell me when he's not contagious."

"The Caitians assured us that this medication should alleviate the infectious nature of the disease," Chapel added. "This virus affects their species very differently. The Healers I contacted were extraordinarily cooperative about letting me into their medical catalog." Picking Bones up again, she scratched the back of his ears, and he rumbled in a strange satisfaction. "They almost didn't believe me when I told them what happened, and are very worried about us being angry with them."

Jim paused, looking down at Bones for a moment, then back up at the nurse. "So they're not infectious right now?" Jim asked, pacing. "What about getting them back?" he asked, his eyes on the cat staring back at him.

"Doctor M'Benga is down in Science right now, working on an antidote based on information the Caitians have given us," Spock said, his eyes filled with something that might have been called amusement.

But Jim wasn't happy at all. "This situation is unacceptable," Jim told both of them, looking angrier than any of them had seen in a long time. Bones moved out of Christine's grip and walked toward the edge of the table and sat down in front of Jim, flicking his tail.

Spock's mouth twitched.

"For the time being, this is the best we've got." She ran a tricorder over him. "He appears to be non-contagious, though we should keep him here, relatively isolated, to ensure that he's clean." Bones looked up at her at that. "Oh, you know what I mean."

"Does he understand us?" Jim asked. Bones tilted his head at Jim, the end of his tail twitching. _Yes, I understand, now fix me, dammit._

"He mentioned that the other two understood his directions when he examined them, though they seemed to have regressed to a more cat-like nature than he has. However," she added, scritching the back of his neck, "since Doctor McCoy did not go to the planet and was infected second-hand, it's possible that his infection isn't as severe and that he'll retain his mind, such as it is."

Bones growled at her, baring a tooth.

That got a hint of a smile out of Jim, his eyes still dark and worried. Bones meowed loudly in response, but the look didn't change.

 

The day seemed to go to hell after that. Bones was put back with the other cats, but that didn't last long. It was hard telling the passage of time in his cat-state, but he knew for a fact that every agonizing second that passed was worse than before. The others were just so... playful, jumping and chewing and swatting at him.

He could hear voices from the other room - _Jim_ \- and the rest of them, but even with his superior feline hearing, it was difficult to make out more than the occasional word. He began clawing furiously at the door - no way they were going to make decisions about him without him being there to give some input, however simplistic it might be.

More clawing, more scratching, louder meowing. Bones lapped at his whiskers in satisfaction at the footsteps approaching. If he positioned himself right, he'd be able to slide right out as soon as the door opened-

But Bones underestimated the size of the feet he had to scale over in his escape. "Hey, whoa there," he heard, felt familiar hands reach under his arms. Bones wiggled furiously, then stopped moving as he was lifted in the air and pressed to Jim's chest. "Whatcha doing scratching Ensign Perez?" he asked, scratching Bones under the chin. "Cut that out, okay?"

Despite himself, Bones began to purr. _Dammit,_ he thought grimly, as his body unconsciously relaxed against Jim. But then the others came over, and the nurse took Bones out of Jim's arms. Bones began meowing furiously, his claws extending into Christine's uniforms, catching on the material.

Christine took him back over to the examination table, looking down at him. "Stay here, okay?" Bones showed her his teeth again, but didn't leave. They were at least keeping him out for the time being. "Captain, we don't know yet if he's-"

"Well, he can't stay here, he's just gonna fight with them. Grumpy cat." Bones narrowed his eyes at Jim, flicked his tail in rage.

Now Spock interjected. "Captain, I must protest."

"Look - what are my chances?" Jim told them, a hint of frustration in his voice, evident even to the cat. "You've been with him almost the whole time, right? And has anyone else begun showing symptoms? No? Then that settles it, he's coming with me." Jim picked him up, a finger stroking his neck. Bones bit at the finger, getting a tap on the nose. "Stop that," Jim told him softly, looking him straight in the eye.

Bones growled, loud and long.

Jim laughed. "This is a new one." Looking back up at Christine, he gave her a grateful nod. "Send me a message if they come up with anything."

 

An hour later, Bones was exploring Jim's room from a totally new perspective. When the chime to Jim's quarters rang, the loud noise spooked him and he felt himself jump a few inches into the air, the fur on the back of his neck rising. It was one of the yeoman. bringing some supplies Jim had requested, though Bones turned his nose up completely at the disgusting cat food Jim poured into one of the bowls.

He wouldn't even look at the litter box in the bathroom. Fuck no... he'd hold it, if he had to.

 

It took three attempts, but Bones did manage to scale the bathroom counter so he could see himself in the mirror, though the reflection almost startled him back onto the floor. He was handsome enough, though that wasn't what he was interested in. It amused him to see his body long like this, covered in thick, brown fur. Bones' eyes looked similar in color, though he had the strange cat-pupil thing going on now, and he examined his teeth carefully, more than a little proud of how sharp they looked.

His balls were _huge_ , Bones noted, purring contentedly before laying down to begin a systematic cleaning of himself. His left leg lifted high into the air as he twisted around, extending to reach parts of him that he could never reach before. There was something soothing about the process of grooming himself, pushing the fur in one direction with his tongue, then turning around and going the other direction. His cat saliva smelled so _clean_ , and before long he was immaculate.

And sleepy. What was it about the cat body that needed so much sleep? Stretching from his warm spot on the floor, Bones walked up to his water bowl and drank deeply, although that took some time to get used to, his tongue curling up and under as it pulled the water into his mouth. Then he slunk into the living room and curled up on the sofa and fell into a deep sleep.

 

 

Bones couldn't believe how dusty it was under the sofa.

The rooms were supposed to be statically cleaned, all dust and dirt particles swept up by the sonic sweeper but clearly it was missing this area. Under the bed wasn't much better but it was bigger and easier for someone to reach under and grab him. The sofa provided him a safe place to hide, and Jim couldn't reach him without physically moving the furniture.

Or could he, Bones growled as one hand reached out and grabbed at his leg. "C'mere," Jim called out. Bones hissed and spat, but he couldn't get his claws into the short nap of the carpet, and he found himself pulled into Jim's arms again. "Why are you fighting me?"

The hands hurt, holding his legs too tight and Bones bit Jim to make him let go. "Fuck," Jim called, dropping the cat who ran across the room and hid under the bed. "I thought you were supposed to remember who you are. Why are you acting like this?"

Bones meowed his displeasure. Why was he acting like this? _Because I'm a fucking cat, you ass, and I don't know how long this is going to last and I'm hungry and scared and tired and its way too bright in this room and -_ But that half-second of thought of human worry was enough to dim the cat-like reflexes and give Jim the edge he needed to reach down and catch him.

Another long, growling meow. "Not cool, kitty, not cool," Jim told him, carrying him carefully over to the sofa, holding his paws in one hand. Bones looked up at Jim, recognizing the scent but so much stronger up close like this. He could feel the beat of Jim's heart too, pressed against his chest like this and as Bones relaxed he began to purr, without even being aware of it.

But Jim noticed. "There we go," he said, leaning back on the sofa, pulling Bones onto his chest. Jim's fingers stroked behind Bones' ear, and the cat lifted his head up for more. "See how nice you are when you wanna be? Why you gotta be a grumpy cat."

Bones cracked a hazel eye at this comment, then closed them again as Jim's fingers slid down his white chest to his belly. Flipping his legs around, Bones found a comfortable position and just let it all go, all the tension and stress from his body. For the first time, Bones felt like a cat.

But at the same time, he'd never felt more like himself, just open and alive and enjoying the feeling of fingers working on him. He flopped gracelessly across Jim's chest, and let himself be stroked, petted, and touched. It wasn't sexual, not in the least, but as Bones woke up from his idyllic little nap and saw Jim sleeping as well, still holding him close, he felt something inside that wasn't feline.

Jim gave up all the others to be with him. What they had wasn't public knowledge, by mutual agreement, but Bones knew it was exclusive, and had been since first time they were together. But more than anything, Bones knew that Jim took care of him, in so many ways, from the first day they met on that shuttle to making sure he kept the CMO post on the Enterprise.

Today, offering to keep him in his room, this pain-in-the-ass cat, was just another example of how Jim took care of his crew. Even if he and Jim hadn't been 'together' Bones _knew_ he would have kept him safe and out of trouble. Add to that their new relationship, and Bones knew deep inside him that he was going to be okay, because Jim wouldn't let this cat thing last forever.

What Bones the cat felt was love, human love for his Jim.

A low rumble in his chest, and he leaned over to head-butt Jim gently. Bright blue eyes flashed open, and looked down at him.

 _Go to bed,_ Bones meowed loudly, jumping off Jim's lap and ambling slowly toward the bedroom. Jumping on the bed, he turned to see Jim following him, yawning as he pulled off his shirt. Bones found a place over at the head of the bed, kneading at the fluffy pillow and falling on top of it with a light thump. His eyes followed Jim as the bed dipped, Jim settling into place beside him.

One large hand fell light onto Bones' back, stroking him from head to tail. "Your litter box is in the bathroom," Jim chuckled quietly. "Don't think I haven't noticed you haven't used it yet." Bones made a low growling noise in his chest, but Jim ignored it. "Just saying, don't shit under my bed, Bones." Pulling Bones up onto his chest again, Jim closed his eyes as his breathing evened out, got slower. "This isn't gonna last long. They're gonna get this fixed, promise you."

Bones reached out with one paw, extending his claws and scratching Jim lightly. "Hey, careful there," Jim chuckled, tapping at the paw with one finger. "You think you're tough now don't ya, just cause you have those claws." Jim rubbed the bridge of Bones' nose, laughing to himself as Bones' eyes closed, a loud rumble in his chest. "Silly kitty. Just charging in there with those sick people, not a care in the world for yourself. You can't do that, Bones. You need to be more careful, keep yourself safe."

Bones looked up at him with a disgruntled look on his face. "You know what I mean," Jim continued. "You're the doctor. _My doctor_. What am I supposed to do if you aren't around to take care of me?"

It was easier to nuzzle like this. Bones moved closer to Jim's face, butting at his chin with his head, purring loud as an engine. "Yeah, you understand me."

Bones fell into a comfortable position next to Jim and closed his eyes. _We understand each other._

 

 

The alarm went off at 0730, but Bones had spent enough nights in Jim's room to be used to that by now. Flipping over, he shivered, cold, all the sheets at the bottom of the bed where Jim kicked them off. He reached down and pulled up the blanket, wrapping it over his shoulder as he rolled over and snuggled up next to Jim's warm back. One arm snaked around Jim's waist and he pulled Jim closer. "Morning," he murmured in Jim's ear.

"Hey," Jim replied sleepily, covering Bones' hand with his own and tangling their legs together. A few moments past before Jim turned around, and smiled. "Hey," he repeated, looking over at Bones with sleepy eyes. "You're you again."

It took Bones a few seconds to get what Jim was saying. He was _him_ again. "Yeah," he coughed, looking down at his arms and legs. Back to normal.

"Should get you checked out soon," Jim told him, pulling him closer.

Bones nodded, his mouth finding Jim's neck. "Later," he murmured. Not ready to get up yet.

Jim laughed at that. "Okay," he nodded. "I guess you can stay a bit longer, even though," he nuzzled Bones' temple, "you were a grumpy kitty. You bit me," he grumbled playfully.

A low chuckle from Bones. "Yeah, sorry," he told him, pulling at Jim's skin with his teeth. "Thought you liked that."

"Like it like this," Jim said, pulling back enough to look Bones in the face, a thoughtful soberness there. "Don't- don't want to worry 'bout you like that. You gotta be careful," he said, blue eyes shining back at him in the low light of the room.

It was almost strange hearing his own advice, said so many times to Jim before, during, and after an away mission coming back at him. "I will, Jim," Bones told him, his voice suddenly solemn. "We both will, right?"

"Yeah," Jim said, his eyes searching all over Bones' face. "This is it, right?" he asked, his voice dropping to a near-whisper.

Bones' heart stopped a moment, and he saw Jim like he did when he'd had his cat eyes - his protector, his playmate, partner in crime. Whatever Jim wanted from him, Bones would gladly give it to him, always.

Bones felt not one qualm in admitting to himself that Jim owned him, heart and soul. "It is for me."

And he meant that.


End file.
